Zero Waste Washington has been selected in honor of SueEllen Melle. She joined WA Citizens For Resource Conservation (WCFR) over a dozen years ago. WCFR renamed itself as Zero Waste WA in 2010. SueEllen retired this past December as the Director of Zero Waste WA.

Zero Waste Washington’s mission statement:

Zero Waste Washington protects people and our natural world by advocating for products designed and produced to be healthy, safe, and continually recycled and reused. We are the public’s voice for zero waste.

Sustainable Path’s first grant was made to WCFR in 2007.

Overall, Sustainable Path has awarded four grants (three to WCFR and one to Zero Waste WA, totaling $49,000).

2016 Founders’ Award Recipient

OCEANS INITIATIVE

Oceans Initiative uses cutting-edge science and is on a mission to protect marine life, including whales, dolphins, sharks, salmon & seabirds, in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

Sustainable Path board member Nan McKay noted that “The board wanted to celebrate Oceans Initiative becoming an official 501(c)(3) in Washington State and to support their important research to improve protection of marine mammals in the Salish Sea.”

Oceans Initiative was co-founded by Erin Ashe and Rob Williams.

The current focus of Erin’s research is the white-sided Pacific dolphin.

Emerald Cities – Seattle: Expand Green Up Funds for All

Sustainable Path’s grant will support their project to craft a carbon reduction fund that can be used to invest in renewable energy and to incentivize projects to convert from using fossil fuels to clean electricity.

Emerald Cities will review the efforts made to date within Seattle City Light,as well as a City of Seattle effort to create a Carbon Reduction Incentive Fund (CRIF), to fund renewable energy and renewable energy credits. Scanning the national landscape of carbon reduction efforts, Emerald Cities will assemble a set of best practices that could be considered as local solutions. Assembling a group of stakeholders, Emerald Cities will use lessons learned, best practices from around the country, and our current legal, regulatory, and political realities to craft a carbon reduction fund that can be used to invest in renewable energy and to incentivize projects to convert from using fossil fuels to clean electricity. This program will include methods to raise money, and use it effectively to reduce green house gas (GHG) emissions through projects in Seattle. It will be scalable to other jurisdictions and demonstrate that it can work statewide as well. It can provide a framework for the use and distribution of potential future revenue from a cap-and-trade system or carbon tax. Emerald Cities will look for community involvement in the promotion and management of the fund as a model for environmental democracy.

Re-Sources For A Sustainable Community

Sustainable Path’s grant will fund the groundwork for RE Sources to design, implement, and host microplastic sampling and data collection training workshops for a new corps of citizen scientists.

The smallest things can sometimes create the biggest problems. Microplastics in Puget Sound is one such notable example. These tiny pieces of plastic—less than 5 mm in diameter—are wreaking havoc on our nearshore habitats, marine invertebrates, and many species of fish, mammals and birds. While scientists have researched and documented the impacts of microplastics on the world’s oceans, little is understood or known about what these tiny particles are doing to filter feeders, salmon and many other species in Puget Sound. At the macro level we know that everything from phytoplankton biomass to loss of habitat function is at risk but the extent of the damage and the long-term consequences remain largely unknown.

Sustainable Path’s grant will fund the groundwork for RE Sources to design, implement, and host microplastic sampling and data collection training workshops for a new corps of citizen scientists. Re-Sources is a partner of the Institute of Environmental Toxicology at Western Washington University (WWU) in conducting a risk assessment of microplastics in Puget Sound. Collecting and analyzing data at several sites will help both inform new policies to mitigate microplastic damage and identify hotspots.

Sightline Institute: The Thin Green Line – Land use law reform to prohibit new fossil fuel infrastructure

Sustainable Path’s grant will support Sightline’s work for land use reform.

Sightline’s work on preventing fossil fuels has been ongoing since 2011. Sightline was one of the first to ring the alarm on the hazards of coal transportation, as well as Big Oil’s plans to drastically increase oil-by-rail shipments to the coast. This work will continue until the global threat from fossil fuels has been contained, and every last export proposal has been shut down. In the near-term, Sightline anticipates local land use law will become the most effective tool for this job. Big energy companies need permission from local governments all up and down the Puget Sound—cities that have the potential to be the last line of defense that keeps these dirty and dangerous fossil fuels in the ground. The current legislative session is our next chance to hold the thin green line strong.

Sustainable Path’s grant will support Sightline’s work for land use reform. For this work, Sightline will act as the research and communications arm of this movement. Working in close collaboration with local partners, Sightline will support the introduction of new legislation that will amend Tacoma’s local land use law to forestall new dirty energy development. A powerful coalition is emerging in Tacoma– one that includes fence-line communities and residents, the nearby Puyallup Tribe, affected workers like the Longshoremen, and local environmental organizations – to protect Tacoma and the waters of Commencement Bay from the depredations of the fossil fuel industry. If successful in Tacoma, Sightline will help to replicate the ban in other Puget Sound cities in coming months and years.

Wild Fish Conservancy: San Juan Sustainable Fishery Model

Sustainable Path’s grant will support WFC’s work assisting local fishermen in their transition from gillnets to reef nets.

While it’s true Pacific salmon are critically important to the economy of the Northwest, to talk only of their economic importance ignores a greater truth. Salmon are the backbone of what we in the Northwest hold dear: our culture, our environment, and our communities.

Today, in waters once supporting abundant populations, four native salmonid species in the sound are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act: Chinook salmon, summer chum salmon, steelhead trout, and bull trout. Their decline cannot be attributed to any one cause, but rather an accumulation of detrimental human activities including habitat degradation, hatchery impacts, dams, and overharvest fromnon-selective commercial fishing practices. Sustainable Path’s grant will support Wild Fish Conservancy (WCF) works to mitigate the negative effects of the latter by expanding the use of sustainable, selective commercial fishing practices in Puget Sound.

Since 2015, WFC has worked in partnership with Lummi Island Wild, a collaboratively owned reef net fishery based on Lummi Island, to advocate for the adoption of reef nets as stock-selective gears. This collaboration has resulted in the expansion and promotion of a sustainable model for regional commercial fisheries. Using fishing methods pioneered centuries ago by the Lummi and Saanich Nations, the non-native members of Lummi Island Wild are re-purposing a traditional salmon harvesting method known as reef netting. Reef nets are capable of releasing ESA-listed salmon back into the wild with the lowest mortality and bycatch rates of any fishing gear. WFC has helped the Lummi Island fishers expand and succeed in harmony with the surrounding ecosystem and tribal communities.

Sustainable Path’s grant will support WFC’s work assisting local fishermen in their transition from gillnets to reef nets. WFC is working with engineers to refine the efficiency of reef nets as stock-selective harvest tools, securing sustainable market certification, and improve the viability of their co-op model.

]]>February 1 Seminar Slide Show Availablehttps://sustainablepath.org/february-1-seminar-silver-lining/
Fri, 06 Jan 2017 17:15:14 +0000https://sustainablepath.org/?p=6026The policies that need to be implemented to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will also bring about substantial reductions in air pollution and cardiovascular disease, as well as propelling changes in urban mobility and our built environment. Video will be posted when available.

The policies that need to be implemented to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will also bring about substantial reductions in air pollution and cardiovascular disease, as well as propelling changes in urban mobility and our built environment. Looking at health co-benefits creates a different paradigm; one that is win-win for most people, and for the planet. The panel will discuss the health co-benefits of climate change policies.

PANELISTS :

Jeremy Hess, Dr. Hess is Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, and Global Health at the University of Washington. He has an MD and an MPH in global environmental health and is residency trained and board certified in emergency medicine. He is the principal investigator of an NIH-funded grant supporting work in India on the epidemiology of extreme heat and strategies for developing, implementing, and evaluating heat early warning systems and of a NASA-funded project exploring the linkages between climate, pollen, and health. He is Co-Director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment (CHanGE) at UW. Dr. Hess has also worked with the Climate and Health Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a medical advisor on the health effects of climate change and on health sector preparedness. Dr. Hess has been a lead author on two recent national climate assessments and on a special report on disasters and climate change adaptation for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Kathy Strange, P.E., M.S.,Public Health, Environmental Health Kathy has over 15 years of experience in the environmental field and is currently the Manager of the Technical Analysis Department at the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency in Seattle. She leads teams that monitor air quality in the Puget Sound region and support air quality planning and policy development. Kathy is a Professional Engineer in Washington State (Environmental) and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Michigan in Civil/Environmental Engineering as well as a Master of Science degree in Environmental Health from the University of Washington. Prior to the Agency, she worked as an environmental consultant with a focus on site remediation. She has also served as an educator in several roles, including service in the US Peace Corps as a math and science teacher. She currently serves as a volunteer board member at the Environmental Science Center in Burien.

Andrew Dannenberg, MD, MPH, is an Affiliate Professor with faculty appointments in environmental health and in urban planning at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he teaches courses on healthy community design and on health impact assessment. Previously, he served as Team Lead of the Healthy Community Design Initiative in the National Center for Environmental Health, at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. For the past 15 years, his research and teaching has focused on examining the health aspects of community design including land use, transportation, urban planning, climate change, and other issues related to the built environment. Dr. Dannenberg is the lead author, with Howard Frumkin and Richard Jackson, of the book Making Healthy Places: Designing and Building for Health, Well-being, and Sustainability published by Island Press in 2011.

]]>Announcing Our First Grant Cycle for 2016https://sustainablepath.org/announcing-our-first-grant-cycle-of-2016/
Tue, 02 Feb 2016 21:42:26 +0000https://sustainablepath.org/?p=5781GRANT FOCUS: OPEN SPACES & SUSTAINABLE BUILT ENVIRONMENTS: Grassroots Approaches to a Sustainable Community A common thread connecting our grant awards is an interest in action-oriented projects that enhance the sustainability of our region while benefiting and directly engaging citizens. We seek to invest in innovative, practical and cost-effective solutions, particularly those that identify emerging […]

]]>GRANT FOCUS:OPENSPACES& SUSTAINABLE BUILT ENVIRONMENTS: Grassroots Approaches to a Sustainable Community

A common thread connecting our grant awards is an interest in action-oriented projects that enhance the sustainability of our region while benefiting and directly engaging citizens. We seek to invest in innovative, practical and cost-effective solutions, particularly those that identify emerging trends, or pilot innovative solutions to tough environmental problems. We are interested in projects that can be replicated.More information…

With Sustainable Path’s grant, Climate Solutions provided New Energy Cities technical assistance to the City of Tukwila. Deliverables from this grant period include:

1) The completion of an energy map and carbon wedge analysis for Tukwila.

2) Climate Solutions presented energy and carbon wedge findings to city staff, including the Mayor’s staff on economic development, the director and lead staff of the Department of Community Development, the director and lead staff of the Department of Public Works, and the lead of the City’s transportation strategies.

3) Climate Solutions briefed and educated lead City staff on promising opportunities for carbon reduction, and facilitated two work sessions with Tukwila staff to prioritize carbon reduction strategies.

4) Climate Solutions developed a memo for Tukwila and the K4C clean energy subcommittee on clean energy provisions that the staff could advocate to include in the City’s franchise agreement (contract) with Puget Sound Energy (PSE). New Energy Cities leveraged this work for the K4C’s broader clean energy transition planning effort, and in developing a memo to the K4C elected officials on utility engagement opportunities. The fact that Tukwila was willing to have a conversation with PSE about this, as a result of our advice, was a significant breakthrough for the K4C.

5) Several Climate Solutions staff members traveled to Olympia with K4C city staff, including a Tukwila planner, to testify at the State Building Code Council in support of energy and building code changes that are essential to helping the K4C cities achieve their goal of carbon neutrality in all new buildings by 2030.

Tukwila’s progress during the grant period is encouraging. The city’s leadership and staff are now eager to make deep carbon reductions in their community and willing to engage Puget Sound Energy in a dialogue about removing coal from its portfolio, a critical step in reducing carbon emissions from their electricity, and contributes to the chorus of King County cities calling upon the utility to divest completely from coal.

Emerald Cities -Seattle

The RENEW Program expands energy and water conservation for affordable multi-family housing to benefit of the building owners and tenants. By combining the Sustainable Path grant with the Line of Credit from Impact Capital, they were able to offer Bellwether Housing a lower-risk, cash-free way to start on their retrofit projects immediately. The response and support from the Affordable Housing community has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive, laying the foundation for future growth. Emerald Cities-Seattle completed a retrofit at Plymouth Housing’s St. Charles Hotel in March 2016 that included improvements to heating controls, a lighting retrofit and water savings measures. In addition we helped to implement a tenant engagement program to educate tenants about energy and water use throughout the year. The results have been promising to date as can be seen in the data here.

The RENEW program and use of grant funds is proceeding as expected other than a significant timing delays in its progress due in part to start-up challenges but primarily due to outside impacts. As has been Emerald Cities’ plan from the start, they will continue to “revolve” the Sustainable Path funds for projects in the future, leveraging their impact many times over. Director Steve Gelb noted that: “The RENEW program is headed towards long-term sustainability and the Sustainable Path funding is an important part of this effort.”

Sustainable Path’s grant has enabled ILFI staff to ramp up assisting Net Zero Energy projects in the Puget Sound region. Projects included: the Riverton shelter, Ballard Net Zero Energy House, and other single family homes; Z Home Phase II (multi-family housing); 1257 King office building and the Edmonds Senior and Community Center.

Provided technical assistance to four project teams of buildings that fall short of expectations, assisting them to successfully complete certification requirements;

Worked with 6 project teams on new buildings to ensure that net zero energy requirements are successfully implemented;

Delivered ongoing, targeted net zero energy education programs to building owners, design professionals and community. In the grant period, Institute staff have presented at XX conferences and public presentations.

Documented 16 case studies online and in publications.

A project certified with Sustainable Path Foundation funding was the Common Ground Community. Three units of this 11 home affordable housing complex in Lopez Island are seeking certification under the energy Petal of the Living Building Challenge, ensuring that the three are Net Zero Energy Certified. Upon project completion, one Common Ground resident said, “Common Ground is about reinventing the American Dream. In the years ahead, Americans will be compelled to shed some deeply ingrained habits of material consumption…I believe this transformation is fundamentally about discovering what it means to be truly human, not as ‘consumers’ but citizens, neighbors, friends, co-creators of a compelling new story that embraces social justice and a healthy planet. It’s about smaller footprints and larger lives.”

Nisqually Land Trust (NLT)

Nisqually Land Trust’s first strategy was to complete a forest carbon offset project on 520 acres under California’s Compliance Offset Protocol for U.S. Forests in order to have high-quality, nationally recognized offset credits to sell to finance acquisition of the land and provide for its long-¬term stewardship.

NLT made history. In November 2015, the Climate Action Reserve certified credits for 37,860 metric tons of carbon on our property and submitted its report to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for final approval and acceptance of the credits. In March 2016, CARB certified our project, making it the first certified carbon-offset project ever completed in the Pacific Northwest and one of only 38 completed nationwide. Read the Seattle Times article here. Microsoft had been purchasing carbon credits internationally as part of its internal voluntary program but had never had an opportunity to purchase them at home.

Joe Kane, Executive Director of NLT, believes this project has set a benchmark for corporate performance in Washington and that there will soon be many more such projects. To that end, the NLT and Washington Environmental Council have been in discussions with Natural Capital Partners about how to develop further projects in the Pacific Northwest.

]]>Climate Change and Puget Soundhttps://sustainablepath.org/climate-change-and-puget-sound/
Tue, 17 Nov 2015 21:58:10 +0000https://sustainablepath.org/?p=5730The Climate Impacts Group has published two new reports and a paper on their website.

PARTNER BENEFITS

Proactive Giving: You have the chance to be directly and personally involved with applicants, and to learn exactly what your pooled dollars will fund.

Enjoyable work: Perhaps the biggest draw, you meet others with similar interests and learn from one another through your involvement in grant-making activities.

Tangible Impact: You will strategically leverage your individual contribution and make a tangible difference in advancing solutions to some of the most significant and interconnected challenges facing our region.

Democratic structure: Each Impact Circle Partner has an equal say in decision-making and collective votes determine the funding recipients.

Continual Learning: You will have a number of opportunities to continue learning about the topic (brown bag lunches, site visits, etc.) throughout the grant cycle.

Annual Gathering:At the end of each 12 month Impact Circle grant cycle, Sustainable Path will host a gathering of grantees and partners from all the Impact Circles. This will be an educational opportunity to further learn about the issues, the strategies to find solutions and learn about the work that has been accomplished with the grant funds. You will be invited to share your experience and together we will evaluate the overall Impact Circle process.